​The SAWS Naval Academy Crew completed an 8-day worktrip in Ramseys Draft Wilderness on July 5th. The local Southern Shenandoah Valley Chapter of PATC that had worked all year to remove blowdowns welcomed SAWS' help, especially in a remote area hard to access on day trips. To them it felt like the cavalry were coming!

The SAWS crew hauled all their gear in and camped at Hiner Spring to work mostly on the remote north end of Ramseys Draft Trail. They used crosscut saws and axes to remove 129 trees from the trail. The 5-person Naval Academy Crew consists of a SAWS crew leader, a SAWS assistant crew leader, and three midshipmen crew members from the US Naval Academy. During the work hitch, the crew was joined by SAWS Program Manager, Eric Giebelstein, and North River Ranger District Seasonal Recreation Technician, Eric Fijas.

Members from PATC-SSVC and Friends of Shenandoah Mountain hiked up the mountain to Hiner Spring to meet the crew, express our appreciation for their work, and tell them about our efforts to protect the Shenandoah Mountain area.

The SAWS Naval Academy Crew program is a partnership between SAWS and the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD. The partnership exists as a Professional Training Event for midshipmen, providing the midshipmen with opportunities for leadership training while accomplishing critical backcountry stewardship projects on protected public lands that lack the resources to otherwise be completed.

We are so pleased that the SAWS crew is working on Shenandoah Mountain to help local groups with stewardship of trails on Shenandoah Mountain.